1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a time stamp.
2. Description of the Related Art
Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application KOKAI Publication No. H5-4284 discloses a time stamp having a time card slot provided at the top surface thereof as an example of a time stamp in which a time card is inserted from above.
Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H9-62883 discloses a time stamp having a time card slot provided at a side surface thereof. This type of time stamp generally has a print head or a print head carriage mechanism disposed at the upper portion there, and a time card slot provided under the print head or the print head carriage mechanism.
Because the time stamp disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Utility Model Application KOKAI Publication No. H5-4284 is configured so that a time card is inserted from above, it is difficult to insert the time card in the time stamp if placed at a high location. This limits the installation location.
The time stamp disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. H9-62883 has the time card slot provided under the print head or the print head carriage mechanism, so that if the time stamp is made short, the position of the time card slot becomes low. This makes it difficult for a user to recognize the presence of the time card slot. In addition, the distance between the mount surface of the time stamp and the time card slot becomes smaller, so that fingers holding a time card may contact the mount surface of the time stamp, making the insertion of the time card difficult. To avoid the difficulty, the position of the time card slot may be moved upward. If the position of the print head and the position of the print head carriage mechanism are moved upward accordingly, the time stamp cannot be made compact. Further, when the time card slot is located under the print head or the print head carriage mechanism, information such as a time is printed on a bottom surface of the time card. To check the contents printed on the time card, therefore, the user needs to flip over the time card after pulling it out of the time stamp. This reduces the operability.